Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of 5,258,317 (as of January 2017).[12] The country shares a long eastern border with
Sweden (
1,619 km or 1,006 mi long). Norway is bordered by
Finland and
Russia to the north-east, and the
Skagerrak strait to the south, with
Denmark on the other side. Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the
Barents Sea.

There is some disagreement about whether the native name of Norway originally had the same etymology as the English form. According to the traditional undisputed view, the first component was originally norðr, a
cognate of English 'north', so the full name was Norðr vegr, 'the way northwards', referring to the sailing route along the Norwegian coast, and contrasting with suðrvegar "
southern way" for
Germany, and austrvegr "
eastern way" for the
Baltic.[27] According to another theory, the first component was a word nór, meaning 'narrow', referring to the inner-
archipelago sailing route ('narrow way') through the land. The interpretation as 'northern', as reflected in the English and Latin forms of the name, was due to later
folk etymology. This latter view originated with philologist Niels Halvorsen Trønnes in 1847, and was around 2016 advocated by language student and activist Klaus Johan Myrvoll and adopted by
philology professor
Michael Schulte.[25][26] The form Nore is still used in placenames such as the village of
Nore and lake
Norefjorden in
Buskerud county, and still has the same meaning.[25][26] Among other arguments in favour of the theory, it is pointed out that the word has a long vowel in Skaldic poetry and is not attested with <ð> in any native Norse texts or inscriptions (the earliest runic attestations have the spellings nuruiak and nuriki). This resurrected theory has received some pushback by other scholars on various grounds, e.g. the uncontroversial presence of the element norðr in the ethnonym norðrmaðr 'Norwegian person', 'Norseman' (modern Norwegian nordmann), and the adjective norrǿnn 'northern', Norse and Norwegian, as well as the very early attestations of the Latin and Anglo-Saxon forms with th.[27][26]

In a Latin manuscript of 849, the name Northuagia is mentioned, while a French chronicle of c. 900 uses the names Northwegia and Norwegia.[28] When
Ohthere of Hålogaland visited King
Alfred the Great in
England in the end of the 9th century, the land was called Norðwegr (lit. Northway) and norðmanna land (lit. Northmen's land).[28]

Old Norse norðmaðr was
Latinized as Nortmannus in the 9th century to mean "
Norseman" and also "
Viking", giving rise to the name of the
Normans.[29] After Norway had become
Christian, Noregr and Noregi had become the most common forms, but during the 15th century, the newer forms Noreg(h) and Norg(h)e, found in medieval
Icelandic manuscripts,[citation needed] took over and have survived until the modern day.

The adjective Norwegian, on the other hand, recorded from c. 1600, is derived from the
latinisation of the name as Norwegia.[citation needed] In the adjective Norwegian, the Old English spelling '-weg' has survived.

History

Prehistory

The first inhabitants were the
Ahrensburg culture (11th to 10th millennia BC), which was a late
Upper Paleolithic culture during the Younger Dryas, the last period of cold at the end of the Weichsel glaciation. The culture is named after the village of
Ahrensburg, 25 km (15.53 mi) north-east of Hamburg in the
German state of Schleswig-Holstein, where wooden arrow shafts and clubs have been excavated.[30] The earliest traces of human occupation in Norway are found along the coast, where the huge ice shelf of the
last ice age first melted between 11,000 and 8,000 BC. The oldest finds are stone tools dating from 9,500 to 6,000 BC, discovered in
Finnmark (
Komsa culture) in the north and
Rogaland (
Fosna culture) in the south-west. However, theories about two altogether different cultures (the Komsa culture north of the
Arctic Circle being one and the Fosna culture from
Trøndelag to
Oslofjord being the other) were rendered obsolete in the 1970s.

More recent finds along the entire coast revealed to archaeologists that the difference between the two can simply be ascribed to different types of tools and not to different cultures. Coastal fauna provided a means of livelihood for fishermen and hunters, who may have made their way along the southern coast about 10,000 BC when the interior was still covered with ice. It is now thought that these so-called "Arctic" peoples came from the south and followed the coast northward considerably later.

In the southern part of the country are dwelling sites dating from about 5,000 BC. Finds from these sites give a clearer idea of the life of the hunting and fishing peoples. The implements vary in shape and mostly are made of different kinds of stone; those of later periods are more skilfully made.
Rock carvings (i.e. petroglyphs) have been found, usually near hunting and fishing grounds. They represent game such as
deer,
reindeer,
elk,
bears,
birds,
seals,
whales, and
fish (especially
salmon and
halibut), all of which were vital to the way of life of the coastal peoples. The carvings at
Alta in Finnmark, the largest in Scandinavia, were made at sea level from 4,200 to 500 BC and mark the progression of the land as the sea rose after the last ice age ended (
Rock carvings at Alta).

From about 1500 BC,
bronze was gradually introduced, but the use of stone implements continued; Norway had few riches to barter for bronze goods, and the few finds consist mostly of elaborate weapons and brooches that only chieftains could afford. Huge burial cairns built close to the sea as far north as
Harstad and also inland in the south are characteristic of this period. The motifs of the rock carvings differ from those typical of the
Stone Age. Representations of the
Sun,
animals,
trees,
weapons,
ships, and people are all strongly stylised.

Thousands of
rock carvings from this period depict ships, and the large stone burial monuments known as
stone ships, suggest that ships and seafaring played an important role in the culture at large. The depicted ships, most likely represent sewn plank built
canoes used for warfare, fishing and trade. These ship types may have their origin as far back as the neolithic period and they continue into the Pre-Roman Iron Age, as exemplified by the
Hjortspring boat.[31]

Iron Age

Little has been found dating from the early
Iron Age (the last 500 years BC). The dead were cremated, and their graves contain few burial goods. During the first four centuries AD the people of Norway were in contact with Roman-occupied
Gaul. About 70 Roman bronze cauldrons, often used as burial urns, have been found. Contact with the civilised countries farther south brought a knowledge of
runes; the oldest known Norwegian runic inscription dates from the 3rd century. At this time, the amount of settled area in the country increased, a development that can be traced by coordinated studies of
topography,
archaeology, and place-names. The oldest root names, such as nes, vik, and bø ("cape," "bay," and "farm"), are of great antiquity, dating perhaps from the Bronze Age, whereas the earliest of the groups of compound names with the suffixes vin ("meadow") or heim ("settlement"), as in Bjǫrgvin (Bergen) or Sǿheim (Seim), usually date from the 1st century AD.

Archaeologists first made the decision to divide the Iron Age of Northern Europe into distinct pre-Roman and
Roman Iron Ages after Emil Vedel unearthed a number of Iron Age artefacts in 1866 on the island of
Bornholm.[32] They did not exhibit the same permeating Roman influence seen in most other artefacts from the early centuries AD, indicating that parts of
northern Europe had not yet come into contact with the Romans at the beginning of the
Iron Age.

Migration period

The destruction of the
Western Roman Empire by the
Germanic peoples in the 5th century is characterised by rich finds, including
tribal chiefs' graves containing magnificent weapons and gold objects.[citation needed] Hill forts were built on precipitous rocks for defence. Excavation has revealed stone foundations of farmhouses 18 to 27 metres (59 to 89 ft) long—one even 46 metres (151 feet) long—the roofs of which were supported on wooden posts. These houses were family homesteads where several generations lived together, with people and cattle under one roof.[citation needed]

These states were based on either
clans or
tribes (e.g., the
Horder of
Hordaland in
western Norway). By the 9th century, each of these small states had
things (local or regional assemblies),[citation needed] for negotiating and settling disputes. The thing meeting places, each eventually with a
hörgr (open-air sanctuary) or a
heathen hof (temple; literally "hill"), were usually situated on the oldest and best farms, which belonged to the chieftains and wealthiest farmers. The regional things united to form even larger units: assemblies of deputy yeomen from several regions. In this way, the lagting (assemblies for negotiations and lawmaking) developed. The Gulating had its meeting place by
Sognefjord and may have been the centre of an aristocratic confederation[citation needed] along the western fjords and islands called the Gulatingslag. The Frostating was the assembly for the leaders in the
Trondheimsfjord area; the
Earls of Lade, near
Trondheim, seem to have enlarged the Frostatingslag by adding the coastland from
Romsdalsfjord to
Lofoten.[citation needed]

From the 8th to the 10th century, the wider Scandinavian region was the source of
Vikings. The looting of the monastery at
Lindisfarne in Northeast England in 793 by
Norse people has long been regarded as the event which marked the beginning of the
Viking Age.[33] This age was characterised by expansion and emigration by Viking
seafarers. They
colonised, raided, and traded in all parts of Europe. Norwegian Viking explorers first discovered
Iceland by accident in the 9th century when heading for the
Faroe Islands, and eventually came across
Vinland, known today as
Newfoundland, in
Canada. The Vikings from Norway were most active in the northern and western
British Isles and eastern
North America isles.[34]

Norwegian, Danish and Swedish expansion during the Viking age between 800–1050

Norse traditions were slowly replaced by
Christian ones in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. One of the most important sources for the history of the 11th century Vikings is the treaty between the Icelanders and Olaf Haraldsson, king of Norway circa 1015 to 1028.[37] This is largely attributed to the missionary kings
Olav Tryggvasson and
St. Olav.
Haakon the Good was Norway's first Christian king, in the mid-10th century, though his attempt to introduce the religion was rejected. Born sometime in between 963–969, Olav Tryggvasson set off raiding in
England with 390 ships. He attacked
London during this raiding. Arriving back in Norway in 995, Olav landed in
Moster. There he built a church which became the first
Christian church ever built in Norway. From Moster, Olav sailed north to
Trondheim where he was proclaimed King of Norway by the Eyrathing in 995.[38]

Feudalism never really developed in Norway or Sweden, as it did in the rest of Europe. However, the administration of government took on a very conservative feudal character. The
Hanseatic League forced the royalty to cede to them greater and greater concessions over foreign trade and the economy. The League had this hold over the royalty because of the loans the Hansa had made to the royalty and the large debt the kings were carrying. The League's monopolistic control over the economy of Norway put pressure on all classes, especially the peasantry, to the degree that no real burgher class existed in Norway.[39]

Kalmar Union

Upon the death of
Haakon V (King of Norway) in 1319,
Magnus Erikson, at just three years old, inherited the throne as King Magnus VII of Norway. At the same time, a movement to make Magnus King of Sweden proved successful, and both the kings of Sweden and of Denmark were elected to the throne by their respective nobles, Thus, with his election to the throne of Sweden, both Sweden and Norway were united under King Magnus VII.[40]

In 1349, the
Black Death radically altered Norway, killing between 50% and 60% of its population[41] and leaving it in a period of social and economic decline.[42] The plague left Norway very poor. Although the death rate was comparable with the rest of Europe, economic recovery took much longer because of the small, scattered population.[42] Even before the plague, the population was only about 500,000.[43] After the plague, many farms lay idle while the population slowly increased.[42] However, the few surviving farms' tenants found their bargaining positions with their landlords greatly strengthened.[42]

King Magnus VII ruled Norway until 1350, when his son, Haakon, was placed on the throne as
Haakon VI.[44] In 1363, Haakon VI married
Margaret, the daughter of King
Valdemar IV of Denmark.[42] Upon the death of Haakon VI, in 1379, his son,
Olaf IV, was only 10 years old.[42] Olaf had already been elected to the throne of Denmark on 3 May 1376.[42] Thus, upon Olaf's accession to the throne of Norway, Denmark and Norway entered
personal union.[45] Olaf's mother and Haakon's widow, Queen Margaret, managed the foreign affairs of Denmark and Norway during the minority of Olaf IV.[42]

Margaret was working toward a union of Sweden with Denmark and Norway by having Olaf elected to the Swedish throne. She was on the verge of achieving this goal when Olaf IV suddenly died.[42] However, Denmark made Margaret temporary ruler upon the death of Olaf. On 2 February 1388, Norway followed suit and crowned Margaret.[42] Queen Margaret knew that her power would be more secure if she were able to find a king to rule in her place. She settled on
Eric of Pomerania, grandson of her sister. Thus at an all-Scandinavian meeting held at Kalmar, Erik of Pomerania was crowned king of all three Scandinavian countries. Thus, royal politics resulted in personal unions between the
Nordic countries, eventually bringing the thrones of Norway,
Denmark, and
Sweden under the control of Queen Margaret when the country entered into the
Kalmar Union.

Union with Denmark

After Sweden broke out of the
Kalmar Union in 1521, Norway tried to follow suit,[citation needed] but the subsequent rebellion was defeated, and Norway remained in a union with Denmark until 1814, a total of 434 years. During the
national romanticism of the 19th century, this period was
by some referred to as the "400-Year Night", since all of the kingdom's royal, intellectual, and administrative power was centred in
Copenhagen in Denmark. In fact, it was a period of great prosperity and progress for Norway, especially in terms of shipping and foreign trade, and it also secured the country's revival from the demographic catastrophe it suffered in the
Black Death. Based on the respective natural resources, Denmark–Norway was in fact a very good match since Denmark supported Norway's needs for grain and food supplies, and Norway supplied Denmark with timber, metal, and fish.

With the
introduction of Protestantism in 1536, the archbishopric in Trondheim was dissolved, and Norway lost its independence, and effectually became a
colony of Denmark. The Church's incomes and possessions were instead redirected to the court in Copenhagen. Norway lost the steady stream of pilgrims to the relics of
St. Olav at the
Nidaros shrine, and with them, much of the contact with cultural and economic life in the rest of Europe.

Eventually restored as a kingdom (albeit in legislative union with Denmark) in 1661, Norway saw its land area decrease in the 17th century with the loss of the provinces
Båhuslen,
Jemtland, and
Herjedalen to Sweden, as the result of a number of disastrous wars with Sweden. In the north, however, its territory was increased by the acquisition of the northern provinces of
Troms and
Finnmark, at the expense of Sweden and Russia.

The
famine of 1695–1696 killed roughly 10% of Norway's population.[46] The harvest failed in Scandinavia at least nine times between 1740 and 1800, with great loss of life.[47]

Union with Sweden

After Denmark–Norway was attacked by the
United Kingdom at the
Battle of Copenhagen, it entered into an alliance with
Napoleon, with the war leading to dire conditions and mass
starvation in 1812. As the Danish kingdom found itself on the losing side in 1814, it was forced, under terms of the
Treaty of Kiel, to cede Norway to the king of Sweden, while the old Norwegian provinces of Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands remained with the Danish crown.[48]

Norway took this opportunity to declare independence, adopted a constitution based on
American and
French models, and elected the Crown Prince of Denmark and Norway,
Christian Frederick, as king on 17 May 1814. This is the famous
Syttende Mai (Seventeenth of May) holiday celebrated by Norwegians and Norwegian-Americans alike. Syttende Mai is also called Norwegian Constitution Day.

Norwegian opposition to the great powers' decision to link Norway with Sweden caused the
Norwegian-Swedish War to break out as Sweden tried to subdue Norway by military means. As Sweden's military was not strong enough to defeat the Norwegian forces outright, and Norway's treasury was not large enough to support a protracted war, and as British and Russian navies blockaded the Norwegian coast,[49] the belligerents were forced to negotiate the
Convention of Moss. According to the terms of the convention, Christian Frederik abdicated the Norwegian throne and authorised the
Parliament of Norway to make the necessary constitutional amendments to allow for the
personal union that Norway was forced to accept. On 4 November 1814, the Parliament (Storting) elected
Charles XIII of Sweden as king of Norway, thereby establishing the
union with Sweden.[50] Under this arrangement, Norway kept its liberal constitution and its own independent institutions, except for the foreign service. Following the recession caused by the
Napoleonic Wars, economic development of Norway remained slow until economic growth began around 1830.[51]

King Charles III John, who came to the throne of Norway and Sweden in 1818, was the second king following Norway's break from Denmark and the union with Sweden. Charles John was a complex man whose long reign extended to 1844. He protected the constitution and liberties of Norway and Sweden during the age of
Metternich. As such, he was regarded as a liberal monarch for that age. However, he was ruthless in his use of paid informers, the secret police and restrictions on the
freedom of the press to put down public movements for reform—especially the Norwegian national independence movement.[52]

The
Romantic Era that followed the reign of King Charles III John brought some significant social and political reforms. In 1854, women won the right to inherit property in their own right, just like men. In 1863, the last trace of keeping unmarried women in the status of minors was removed. Furthermore, women were then eligible for different occupations, particularly the common school teacher.[53] By mid-century, Norway's democracy was limited by modern standards: Voting was limited to officials, property owners, leaseholders and burghers of incorporated towns.[54]

Still, Norway remained a conservative society. Life in Norway (especially economic life) was "dominated by the aristocracy of professional men who filled most of the important posts in the central government".[55] There was no strong bourgeosie class in Norway to demand a breakdown of this aristocratic control of the economy.[56] Thus, even while revolution swept over most of the countries of Europe in 1848, Norway was largely unaffected by revolts that year.[56]

Marcus Thrane was a Utopian socialist. He made his appeal to the labouring classes urging a change of social structure "from below upwards." In 1848, he organised a labour society in
Drammen. In just a few months, this society had a membership of 500 and was publishing its own newspaper. Within two years, 300 societies had been organised all over Norway, with a total membership of 20,000 persons. The membership was drawn from the lower classes of both urban and rural areas; for the first time these two groups felt they had a common cause.[57] In the end, the revolt was easily crushed; Thrane was captured and in 1855, after four years in jail, was sentenced to three additional years for crimes against the safety of the state. Upon his release, Marcus Thrane attempted unsuccessfully to revitalise his movement, but after the death of his wife, he migrated to the United States.[58]

Dissolution of the union

Christian Michelsen, a shipping magnate and statesman, and Prime Minister of Norway from 1905 to 1907, played a central role in the peaceful separation of Norway from Sweden on 7 June 1905. A national referendum confirmed the people's preference for a monarchy over a republic. No Norwegian could legitimately claim the throne because none was able to prove relationship to medieval royalty and in European tradition
royal or "blue" blood is a precondition for laying claim to the throne.

The government offered the throne of Norway to a prince of the Dano-German royal
house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Prince Carl of Denmark was unanimously elected king by the Norwegian
Parliament, the first king of a fully independent Norway in 508 years (1397:
Kalmar Union); he took the name
Haakon VII. In 1905, the country welcomed the prince from neighbouring Denmark, his wife
Maud of Wales and their young son to re-establish Norway's royal house. Following centuries of close ties between Norway and Denmark, a prince from the latter was the obvious choice for a European prince who could best relate to the Norwegian people.

First and Second World Wars

Throughout the
First World War, Norway was in principle a neutral country. In reality, however, Norway had been pressured by the
British to hand over increasingly large parts of its large merchant fleet to the British at low rates, as well as to join the trade blockade against Germany. Norwegian merchant marine ships, often with Norwegian sailors still on board, were then sailing under the British flag and at risk of being sunk by German submarines. Thus, many Norwegian sailors and ships were lost. Thereafter, the world ranking of the Norwegian merchant navy fell from fourth place to sixth in the world.[59]

The fraction of the Norwegian population that supported Germany was traditionally smaller than in Sweden, but greater than is generally appreciated today.[citation needed] It included a number of prominent personalities such as
Knut Hamsun. The concept of a "Germanic Union" of member states fit well into their thoroughly nationalist-patriotic ideology.

Many Norwegians and persons of Norwegian descent joined the Allied forces as well as the
Free Norwegian Forces. In June 1940, a small group had left Norway following their king to Britain. This group included 13 ships, five aircraft, and 500 men from the Royal Norwegian Navy. By the end of the war, the force had grown to 58 ships and 7,500 men in service in the Royal Norwegian Navy, 5 squadrons of aircraft (including Spitfires, Sunderland flying boats and Mosquitos) in the newly formed Norwegian Air Force, and land forces including the
Norwegian Independent Company 1 and 5 Troop as well as No. 10
Commandos.[citation needed]

Post-World War II history

From 1945 to 1962, the
Labour Party held an absolute majority in the parliament. The government, led by prime minister
Einar Gerhardsen, embarked on a program inspired by
Keynesian economics, emphasising state financed industrialisation and co-operation between
trade unions and
employers' organisations. Many measures of state control of the economy imposed during the war were continued, although the
rationing of dairy products was lifted in 1949, while price control and rationing of housing and cars continued as long as until 1960.

Since the 1980s oil production has helped to expand the Norwegian economy and finance the Norwegian state.

The first oil was discovered at the small Balder field in 1967, production only began in 1999.[62] In 1969, the
Phillips Petroleum Company discovered
petroleum resources at the
Ekofisk field west of Norway. In 1973, the Norwegian government founded the State oil company,
Statoil. Oil production did not provide net income until the early 1980s because of the large capital investment that was required to establish the country's petroleum industry. Around 1975, both the proportion and absolute number of workers in industry peaked. Since then labour-intensive industries and services like factory mass production and shipping have largely been outsourced.

Town Hall Square in Oslo filled with people with roses mourning the victims of the
Utøya massacre, 22 July 2011

In 1981, a Conservative government led by
Kåre Willoch replaced the Labour Party with a policy of stimulating the
stagflated economy with tax cuts, economic liberalisation, deregulation of markets, and measures to curb record-high inflation (13.6% in 1981).

Norway's first female prime minister,
Gro Harlem Brundtland of the Labour party, continued many of the reforms of her conservative predecessor, while backing traditional Labour concerns such as
social security, high taxes, the industrialisation of nature, and feminism. By the late 1990s, Norway had paid off its foreign debt and had started accumulating a
sovereign wealth fund. Since the 1990s, a divisive question in politics has been how much of the income from petroleum production the government should spend, and how much it should save.

At 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) (including
Svalbard and
Jan Mayen) (and 323,802 square kilometres (125,021 sq mi) without), much of the country is dominated by mountainous or high terrain, with a great variety of natural features caused by prehistoric
glaciers and varied
topography. The most noticeable of these are the fjords: deep grooves cut into the land flooded by the sea following the end of the Ice Age.
Sognefjorden is the world's second deepest fjord, and the world's longest at 204 kilometres (127 mi).
Hornindalsvatnet is the deepest lake in all Europe.[65]Permafrost can be found all year in the higher mountain areas and in the interior of Finnmark county.
Numerous glaciers are found in Norway.

The land is mostly made of hard
granite and
gneiss rock, but
slate,
sandstone, and
limestone are also common, and the lowest elevations contain marine deposits. Because of the
Gulf Stream and prevailing westerlies, Norway experiences higher temperatures and more precipitation than expected at such northern latitudes, especially along the coast. The mainland experiences four distinct seasons, with colder winters and less precipitation inland. The northernmost part has a mostly maritime
Subarctic climate, while Svalbard has an
Arctictundra climate.

Because of the large latitudinal range of the country and the varied topography and climate, Norway has a larger number of different
habitats than almost any other European country. There are approximately 60,000 species in Norway and adjacent waters (excluding bacteria and virus). The Norwegian Shelf large marine ecosystem is considered highly productive.[66]

Climate

The southern and western parts of Norway, fully exposed to Atlantic storm fronts, experience more precipitation and have milder winters than the eastern and far northern parts. Areas to the east of the coastal mountains are in a
rain shadow, and have lower rain and snow totals than the west. The lowlands around Oslo have the warmest and sunniest summers, but also cold weather and snow in wintertime.[67][68]

Because of Norway's high
latitude, there are large seasonal variations in daylight. From late May to late July, the sun never completely descends beneath the horizon in areas north of the Arctic Circle (hence Norway's description as the "Land of the
Midnight Sun"), and the rest of the country experiences up to 20 hours of daylight per day. Conversely, from late November to late January, the sun never rises above the horizon in the north, and daylight hours are very short in the rest of the country.

The coastal climate of Norway is exceptionally mild compared with areas on similar latitudes elsewhere in the world, with the
Gulf Stream passing directly offshore the northern areas of the Atlantic coast, continuously warming the region in the winter. Temperature anomalies found in coastal locations are exceptional, with
Røst and
Værøy lacking a meteorological winter in spite of being north of the Arctic Circle. The Gulf Stream has this effect only on the northern parts of Norway, not in the south, despite what is commonly believed. The northern coast of Norway would thus be ice-covered if not for the Gulf Stream.[69] As a side-effect, the Scandinavian Mountains prevent continental winds from reaching the coastline, causing very cool summers throughout Atlantic Norway. Oslo has more of a continental climate, similar to Sweden's. The mountain ranges have subarctic and tundra climates. There is also very high rainfall in areas exposed to the Atlantic, such as Bergen. Oslo, in comparison, is dry, being in a
rain shadow.
Skjåk in Oppland county is also in the rain shadow and is one of the driest places with 278 millimetres (10.9 inches) precipitation annually.
Finnmarksvidda and the interior valleys of
Troms and
Nordland also receive less than 300 millimetres (12 inches) annually. Longyearbyen is the driest place in Norway with 190 millimetres (7.5 inches).[70]

Parts of southeastern Norway including parts of
Mjøsa have warm-summer
humid continental climates (
Köppen Dfb), while the more southern and western coasts are mostly of the
oceanic climate (Cfb). Further inland in southeastern and northern Norway, the
subarctic climate (Dfc) dominates; this is especially true for areas in the rain shadow of the
Scandinavian Mountains. Some of the inner valleys of
Oppland get so little precipitation annually, thanks to the rain shadow effect, that they meet the requirements for dry-summer subarctic climates (Dsc). In higher altitudes, close to the coasts of southern and western Norway, one can find the rare subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc). This climate is also common in Northern Norway, but there usually in lower altitudes, all the way down to sea level. A small part of the northernmost coast of Norway has the
tundra/alpine/polar climate (ET). Large parts of Norway are covered by mountains and high altitude plateaus, many of which also exhibit the
tundra/alpine/polar climate (ET).[67][71][72][68][73]

Biodiversity

The
Arctic fox has its habitat in high elevation ranges on the mainland as well as on
Svalbard.

The total number of species include 16,000 species of
insects (probably 4,000 more species yet to be described), 20,000 species of
algae, 1,800 species of
lichen, 1,050 species of
mosses, 2,800 species of
vascular plants, up to 7,000 species of
fungi, 450 species of
birds (250 species nesting in Norway), 90 species of
mammals, 45 fresh-water species of fish, 150 salt-water species of fish, 1,000 species of fresh-water
invertebrates, and 3,500 species of salt-water invertebrates.[79] About 40,000 of these species have been described by science. The
red list of 2010 encompasses 4,599 species.[80]

Seventeen species are listed mainly because they are endangered on a global scale, such as the
European beaver, even if the population in Norway is not seen as endangered. The number of threatened and near-threatened species equals to 3,682; it includes 418 fungi species, many of which are closely associated with the small remaining areas of old-growth forests,[81] 36 bird species, and 16 species of mammals. In 2010, 2,398 species were listed as endangered or vulnerable; of these were 1250 listed as vulnerable (VU), 871 as endangered (EN), and 276 species as critically endangered (CR), among which were the
grey wolf, the
Arctic fox (healthy population on Svalbard) and the
pool frog.[80]

The largest predator in Norwegian waters is the
sperm whale, and the largest fish is the
basking shark. The largest predator on land is the
polar bear, while the
brown bear is the largest predator on the Norwegian mainland. The largest land animal on the mainland is the elk (American English:
moose). The elk is in Norway known for its size and strength and is often called skogens konge, "king of the forest".

Environment

Stunning and dramatic scenery and landscape is found throughout Norway.[82] The west coast of southern Norway and the coast of northern Norway present some of the most visually impressive coastal sceneries in the world.
National Geographic has listed the Norwegian fjords as the world's top tourist attraction.[83] The country is also home to the natural phenomena of the Midnight sun (during summer) as well as the
Aurora borealis know also as the Northern lights.[84] The 2014
Environmental Performance Index put Norway in tenth place, based on the environmental performance of the country's policies.

Norway is considered to be one of the most developed
democracies and
states of justice in the world. From 1814, c. 45% of men (25 years and older) had the right to vote, whereas the United Kingdom had c. 20% (1832), Sweden c. 5% (1866), and Belgium c. 1.15% (1840). Since 2010, Norway has been classified as the world's most democratic country by the
Democracy Index.[85][86][87]

The
Monarch officially retains executive power. However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the Monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial,[89] such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the Prime Minister and other ministers in the executive government. Accordingly, the Monarch is
commander-in-chief of the
Norwegian Armed Forces, and serves as chief diplomatic official abroad and as a symbol of unity.
Harald V of the
House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg was crowned King of Norway in 1991, the first since the 14th century who has been born in the country.[90]Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway, is the legal and rightful heir to the throne and the Kingdom.

In practice, the Prime Minister exercises the executive powers. Constitutionally, legislative power is vested with both the government and the Parliament of Norway, but the latter is the supreme legislature and a
unicameral body.[91] Norway is fundamentally structured as a
representative democracy. The Parliament can pass a law by simple majority of the 169 representatives, who are elected on the basis of
proportional representation from 19 constituencies for four-year terms.

150 are elected directly from the 19 constituencies, and an additional 19 seats ("levelling seats") are allocated on a nationwide basis to make the representation in parliament correspond better with the popular vote for the political parties. A 4% election threshold is required for a party to gain levelling seats in Parliament.[92] There are a total of 169
Members of Parliament.

The Parliament of Norway, called the Stortinget (meaning Grand Assembly), ratifies national
treaties developed by the executive branch. It can
impeach members of the government if their acts are declared unconstitutional. If an indicted suspect is impeached, Parliament has the power to remove the person from office.

The position of
Prime Minister, Norway's head of government, is allocated to the Member of Parliament who can obtain the
confidence of a majority in Parliament, usually the current leader of the largest political party or, more effectively, through a coalition of parties. A single party generally does not have sufficient political power in terms of the number of seats to form a government on its own. Norway has often been ruled by minority governments.

The Prime Minister nominates the Cabinet, traditionally drawn from members of the same political party or parties in the Storting, making up the government. The PM organises the executive government and exercises its power as vested by the Constitution.[93] Reflecting its monarchical past, Norway was established under the
Lutheran Church of Norway, and was the state church until 2012. Formerly, the PM had to have more than half the members of Cabinet be members of the Church of Norway, meaning at least ten out of the 19 ministries. This rule was however removed in 2012. The issue of
separation of church and state in Norway has been increasingly controversial, as many people believe it is time to change this, to reflect the growing diversity in the population. A part of this is the evolution of the public school subject Christianity, a required subject since 1739. Even the state's loss in a battle at the
European Court of Human Rights at
Strasbourg[94] in 2007 did not settle the matter. As of 1 January 2017, the Church of Norway is a separate legal entity, and no longer a branch of the civil service.[95]

Through the
Council of State, a
privy council presided over by the
Monarch, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet meet at the
Royal Palace and formally consult the Monarch. All government bills need the formal approval by the Monarch before and after introduction to Parliament. The Council reviews and approves all of the Monarch's actions as head of state. Although all government and parliamentary acts are decided beforehand, the privy council is an example of symbolic gesture the King retains.[90]

Since 2005, both the Conservative Party and the
Progress Party have won numerous seats in the Parliament, but not sufficient in the
2009 general election to overthrow the coalition. Commentators have pointed to the poor co-operation between the opposition parties, including the
Liberals and the
Christian Democrats.
Jens Stoltenberg, the leader of the Labour Party, continues to have the necessary majority through his multi-party alliance to continue as PM.[98]

In national elections in September 2013, voters ended eight years of Labor rule. Two political parties,
Høyre and
Fremskrittspartiet, elected on promises of tax cuts, more spending on infrastructure and education, better services and stricter rules on
immigration, formed a government. Coming at a time when Norway's economy is in good condition with low unemployment, the rise of the right appeared to be based on other issues.
Erna Solberg became prime minister, the second female prime minister after
Brundtland and the first conservative prime minister since
Syse. Solberg said her win was "a historic election victory for the right-wing parties".[99]

Administrative divisions

Norway, a
unitary state, is divided into nineteen first-level administrative
counties (fylke). The counties are administrated through directly elected county assemblies who elect the County Governor. Additionally, the
King and government are represented in every county by a
fylkesmann, who effectively acts as a
Governor.[100] As such, the Government is directly represented at a local level through the County Governors' offices. The counties are then sub-divided into 430 second-level
municipalities (kommunar), which in turn are administrated by directly elected municipal council, headed by a
mayor and a small executive cabinet. The capital of
Oslo is considered both a county and a municipality.

A geopolitical map of Norway, showing the 19
fylker, the
Svalbard (Spitsbergen) and
Jan Mayen islands, which are part of the Norwegian kingdom

96 settlements have
city status in Norway. In most cases, the city borders are coterminous with the borders of their respective municipalities. Often, Norwegian city municipalities include large areas that are not developed; for example, Oslo municipality contains large forests, located north and south-east of the city, and over half of Bergen municipality consists of mountainous areas.

Judicial system and law enforcement

Norway uses a
civil law system where laws are created and amended in Parliament and the system regulated through the
Courts of justice of Norway. It consists of the
Supreme Court of 20 permanent judges and a
Chief Justice,
appellate courts, city and
district courts, and
conciliation councils.[102] The judiciary is independent of executive and legislative branches. While the Prime Minister nominates Supreme Court Justices for office, their nomination must be approved by Parliament and formally confirmed by the Monarch in the Council of State. Usually, judges attached to regular courts are formally appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Courts' strict and formal mission is to regulate the Norwegian judicial system, interpret the Constitution, and as such implement the legislation adopted by Parliament. In its judicial reviews, it monitors the legislative and executive branches to ensure that they comply with provisions of enacted legislation.[102]

Norway abolished the death penalty for regular criminal acts in 1902. The legislature abolished the death penalty for high treason in war and war-crimes in 1979.
Reporters Without Borders, in its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, ranked Norway at a shared first place (along with Iceland) out of 169 countries.[103]

In general, the legal and institutional framework in Norway is characterised by a high degree of transparency, accountability and integrity, and the perception and the occurrence of corruption are very low.[104] Norway has ratified all relevant international anti-corruption conventions, and its standards of implementation and enforcement of anti-corruption legislation are considered very high by many international anti-corruption working groups such as the OECD Anti-Bribery Working Group. However, there are some isolated cases showing that some municipalities have abused their position in public procurement processes.

Norwegian prisons are humane, rather than tough, with emphasis on rehabilitation. At 20%, Norway's re-conviction rate is among the lowest in the world.[105]

Foreign relations

Norway maintains embassies in 86 countries.[106] 60 countries maintain an embassy in Norway, all of them in the capital, Oslo.

Norway is a founding member of the
United Nations (UN), the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the
Council of Europe and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Norway issued applications for accession to the European Union (EU) and its predecessors in 1962, 1967 and 1992, respectively. While Denmark, Sweden and Finland obtained membership, the Norwegian electorate rejected the treaties of accession in referenda in 1972 and 1994.

After the 1994 referendum, Norway maintained its membership in the European Economic Area (EEA), an arrangement granting the country access to the
internal market of the Union, on the condition that Norway implements the Union's pieces of legislation which are deemed relevant (of which there were approximately seven thousand by 2010)[107] Successive Norwegian governments have, since 1994, requested participation in parts of the EU's co-operation that go beyond the provisions of the EEA agreement. Non-voting participation by Norway has been granted in, for instance, the Union's
Common Security and Defence Policy, the
Schengen Agreement, and the
European Defence Agency, as well as 19 separate programmes.[108]

Health

Norway was awarded first place according to the UN's
Human Development Index (HDI) for 2013.[112] Poverty and
communicable diseases dominated in Norway together with
famines, and
epidemics in the 1800s. From the 1900s, improvements in public health occurred as a result of development in several areas such as social and
living conditions, changes in disease and medical outbreaks, establishment of the health care system, and emphasis on public health matters.
Vaccination and increased treatment opportunities with antibiotics resulted in great improvements within the Norwegian population. Improved hygiene and better nutrition were factors that contributed to improved health.

The disease pattern in Norway changed from communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases and chronic diseases as
cardiovascular disease. Inequalities and social differences are still present in public health in Norway today.[113]

In 2013 the infant mortality rate was 2.5 per 1,000 live births among children under the age of one. For girls it was 2.7 and for boys 2.3, which is the lowest infant mortality rate for boys ever recorded in Norway.[114]

Norwegians enjoy the second-highest
GDP per-capita among European countries (after
Luxembourg), and the sixth-highest
GDP (PPP) per-capita in the world. Today, Norway ranks as the second-wealthiest country in the world in monetary value, with the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation.[115] According to the CIA World Factbook, Norway is a net external creditor of debt.[64] Norway maintained first place in the world in the
UNDPHuman Development Index (HDI) for six consecutive years (2001–2006),[8] and then reclaimed this position in 2009, through 2015.[20] The standard of living in Norway is among the highest in the world.
Foreign Policy Magazine ranks Norway last in its
Failed States Index for 2009, judging Norway to be the world's most well-functioning and stable country. The
OECD ranks Norway fourth in the 2013 equalised
Better Life Index and third in intergenerational earnings elasticity.[116][117]

Norway's exclusive economic zones

The Norwegian economy is an example of a
mixed economy, a prosperous capitalist
welfare state and social democracy country featuring a combination of
free market activity and large state ownership in certain key sectors.
Public health care in Norway is free (after an annual charge of around 2000
kroner for those over 16), and parents have 46 weeks paid[118] parental leave. The state income derived from natural resources includes a significant contribution from petroleum production. Norway has an unemployment rate of 4.8%, with 68% of the population aged 15–74 employed.[119] People in the labour force are either employed or looking for work.[120] 9.5% of the population aged 18–66 receive a disability pension[121] and 30% of the labour force are employed by the government, the highest in the
OECD.[122] The hourly productivity levels, as well as average hourly wages in Norway, are among the highest in the world.[123][124]

The
egalitarian values of Norwegian society have kept the wage difference between the lowest paid worker and the CEO of most companies as much less than in comparable western economies.[125] This is also evident in
Norway's low Gini coefficient.

The state has large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, such as the strategic
petroleum sector (
Statoil), hydroelectric energy production (
Statkraft), aluminium production (
Norsk Hydro), the largest Norwegian bank (
DNB), and telecommunication provider (
Telenor). Through these big companies, the government controls approximately 30% of the stock values at the Oslo Stock Exchange. When non-listed companies are included, the state has even higher share in ownership (mainly from direct oil licence ownership). Norway is a major
shipping nation and has the world's 6th largest
merchant fleet, with 1,412 Norwegian-owned merchant vessels.

By referendums in 1972 and
1994, Norwegians rejected proposals to join the European Union (EU). However, Norway, together with
Iceland and
Liechtenstein, participates in the European Union's single market through the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement. The EEA Treaty between the European Union countries and the EFTA countries– transposed into Norwegian law via "EØS-loven"[126]– describes the procedures for implementing European Union rules in Norway and the other EFTA countries. Norway is a highly integrated member of most sectors of the EU internal market. Some sectors, such as agriculture, oil and fish, are not wholly covered by the EEA Treaty. Norway has also acceded to the
Schengen Agreement and several other intergovernmental agreements among the EU member states.

The country is richly endowed with natural resources including
petroleum,
hydropower,
fish,
forests, and
minerals. Large reserves of petroleum and
natural gas were discovered in the 1960s, which led to a boom in the economy. Norway has obtained one of the highest standards of living in the world in part by having a large amount of natural resources compared to the size of the population. In 2011, 28% of state revenues were generated from the petroleum industry.[127]

Norway is the first country which banned cutting of trees (deforestation), in order to prevent rain forests from vanishing. The country declared its intention at the UN Climate Summit in 2014, alongside Great Britain and Germany. Crops, that are typically linked to forests' destruction are timber, soy, palm oil and beef. Now Norway has to find new way to provide these essential products without exerting negative influence on its environment.[128]

Resources

Agriculture is a significant sector, in spite of the mountainous landscape (
Flakstad)

Export revenues from oil and gas have risen to almost 50% of total exports and constitute more than 20% of the
GDP.[129] Norway is the fifth-largest oil exporter and third-largest gas exporter in the world, but it is not a member of
OPEC. In 1995, the Norwegian government established the sovereign wealth fund (
"Government Pension Fund — Global"), which would be funded with oil revenues, including taxes, dividends, sales revenues and licensing fees. This was intended to reduce overheating in the economy from oil revenues, minimise uncertainty from volatility in oil price, and provide a cushion to compensate for expenses associated with the ageing of the population.

The government controls its petroleum resources through a combination of state ownership in major operators in the oil fields (with approximately 62% ownership in
Statoil in 2007) and the fully state-owned
Petoro, which has a market value of about twice Statoil, and
SDFI. Finally, the government controls licensing of exploration and production of fields. The fund invests in developed financial markets outside Norway. The budgetary rule (Handlingsregelen) is to spend no more than 4% of the fund each year (assumed to be the normal yield from the fund).

In March 2017, the Government Pension Fund controlled assets were valued at approximately US$913 billion (equal to US$182,000 per capita), which is about 178% of Norway's current GDP. It is the largest
sovereign wealth fund in the world.[130] The fund controls about 1.3% of all listed shares in Europe, and more than 1% of all the publicly traded shares in the world. The Norwegian Central Bank operates investment offices in London, New York, and Shanghai. Guidelines implemented in 2007 allow the fund to invest up to 60% of the capital in shares (maximum of 40% prior), while the rest may be placed in bonds and real-estate. As the stock markets tumbled in September 2008, the fund was able to buy more shares at low prices. In this way, the losses incurred by the market turmoil was recuperated by November 2009.[citation needed]

Other nations with economies based on natural resources, such as
Russia, are trying to learn from Norway by establishing similar funds. The investment choices of the Norwegian fund are directed by
ethical guidelines; for example, the fund is not allowed to invest in companies that produce parts for nuclear weapons. Norway's highly
transparent investment scheme is lauded by the international community.[citation needed] The future size of the fund is closely linked to the price of oil and to developments in international financial markets.

In 2000, the government sold one-third of the state-owned oil company Statoil in an
IPO. The next year, the main telecom supplier,
Telenor, was listed on
Oslo Stock Exchange. The state also owns significant shares of Norway's largest bank,
DnB NOR and the airline
SAS. Since 2000,
economic growth has been rapid, pushing unemployment down to levels not seen since the early 1980s (unemployment in 2007: 1.3%). The international financial crisis has primarily affected the industrial sector, but unemployment has remained low, and was at 3.3% (86,000 people) in August 2011. In contrast to Norway,
Sweden had substantially higher actual and projected unemployment numbers as a result of the recession. Thousands of mainly young Swedes migrated to Norway for work during these years, which is easy, as the labour market and social security systems overlap in the Nordic Countries. In the 1st quarter of 2009, the GNP of Norway surpassed Sweden's for the first time in history, although its population is half the size.

Norway is also the world's 2nd-largest exporter of fish (in value, after China).[132][133]Hydroelectric plants generate roughly 98–99% of Norway's electric power, more than any other country in the world.[134]

Oil fields

Between 1966 and 2013, Norwegian companies drilled 5085
oil wells, mostly in the
North Sea.[135] 3672 are utviklingsbrønner (regular production);[135] 1413 are letebrønner (exploration); and 1405 of these have been terminated (avsluttet).[135]

Oil fields not yet in production phase include:
Wisting Central—calculated size in 2013, 65–156 million barrels of oil and 10 to 40 billion cubic feet (0.28 to 1.13 billion cubic metres), (utvinnbar) of gas.[136] and the
Castberg Oil Field (Castberg-feltet[136])—calculated size 540 million barrels of oil, and 2 to 7 billion cubic feet (57 to 198 million cubic metres) (utvinnbar) of gas.[137] Both oil fields are located in the
Barents Sea.

Norway has approximately 92,946 kilometres (57,754 mi) of
road network, of which 72,033 kilometres (44,759 mi) are paved and 664 kilometres (413 mi) are
motorway.[64] The four tiers of road routes are national, county, municipal and private, with national and primary county roads numbered en route. The most important national routes are part of the
European route scheme. The two most prominent are the
E6 going north-south through the entire country, and the
E39, which follows the West Coast. National and county roads are managed by the
Norwegian Public Roads Administration.[147]

Norway has the world's largest registered stock of
plug-in electric vehicles per capita.[148][149][150] In March 2014, Norway became the first country where over 1 in every 100 passenger cars on the roads is a plug-in electric.[151] The plug-in electric segment
market share of new car sales is also the highest in the world.[152] According to a report by
Dagens Næringsliv in June 2016, the country would like to ban all gasoline and diesel powered vehicles as early as 2025.[153] In June 2017, 42% of new cars registered were electric.[154]

Of the 97 airports in Norway,[64] 52 are public,[155] and 46 are operated by the state-owned
Avinor.[156]Seven airports have more than one million passengers annually.[155] 41,089,675 passengers passed through Norwegian airports in 2007, of which 13,397,458 were international.[155]

Norway's population was 5,096,300 people in October 2013.
Norwegians are an ethnic North
Germanic people. Since the late 20th century, Norway has attracted immigrants from southern and central Europe, the Mideast, Africa, Asia and beyond.

In 2012, an official study showed that 86%[164] of the total population have at least one parent who was born in Norway. More than 710,000 individuals (14%)[165] are immigrants and their descendants; there are 117,000 children of immigrants, born in Norway.

In 2013, the Norwegian government said that 14% of the Norwegian population were immigrants or children of two immigrant parents. About 6% of the immigrant population come from EU, North America and Australia, and about 8.1% come from Asia, Africa and Latin America.[166]

In 2012, of the total 660,000 with immigrant background, 407,262 had Norwegian citizenship (62.2%).[167]

Immigrants have settled in all
Norwegian municipalities. The cities or municipalities with the highest share of immigrants in 2012 were
Oslo (32%) and
Drammen (27%).[168] The share in Stavanger was 16%.[168] According to
Reuters, Oslo is the "fastest growing city in Europe because of increased immigration".[169] In recent years,
immigration has accounted for most of Norway's population growth. In 2011, 16% of newborn children were of immigrant background.

The
Sami people are
indigenous to the Far North and have traditionally inhabited central and northern parts of Norway and Sweden, as well as areas in northern Finland and in Russia on the
Kola Peninsula. Another national minority are the
Kven people, descendants of Finnish-speaking people who migrated to northern Norway from the 18th up to the 20th century. From the 19th century up to the 1970s, the Norwegian government tried to assimilate both the Sami and the Kven, encouraging them to adopt the majority language, culture and religion.[170] Because of this "
Norwegianization process", many families of Sami or Kven ancestry now identify as ethnic Norwegian.[171]

Migration

Emigration

Particularly in the 19th century, when economic conditions were difficult in Norway, tens of thousands of people migrated to the United States and Canada, where they could work and buy land in frontier areas. Many went to the Midwest and Pacific Northwest. In 2006, according to the US Census Bureau, almost 4.7 million persons identified as
Norwegian Americans,[172] which was larger than the population of ethnic Norwegians in Norway itself.[1] In the 2011 Canadian census, 452,705 Canadian citizens identified as having
Norwegian ancestry.[173]

Immigration

On 1 January 2013[update], the number of immigrants or children of two immigrants residing in Norway was 710,465, or 14.1% of the total population,[166] up from 183,000 in 1992. Yearly immigration has increased since 2005. While yearly net immigration in 2001–5 was on average 13,613, it increased to 37,541 between 2006 and 2010, and in 2011 net immigration reached 47,032.[174] This is mostly because of increased immigration by residents of the EU, in particular from Poland.[175]

In 2012, the immigrant community (which includes immigrants and children born in Norway of immigrant parents) grew by 55,300, a record high.[166] Net immigration from abroad reached 47,300 (300 higher than in 2011), while immigration accounted for 72% of Norway's population growth.[176] 17% of newborn children were born to immigrant parents.[166] Children of Pakistani, Somali and
Vietnamese parents made up the largest groups of all Norwegians born to immigrant parents.[177]

Pakistani Norwegians are the largest non-European minority group in Norway. Most of their 32,700 members live in and around Oslo. The
Iraqi and
Somali immigrant populations have increased significantly in recent years. After the enlargement of the EU in 2004, a wave of immigrants has arrived from Central and Northern Europe, particularly
Poland,
Sweden and
Lithuania. The fastest growing immigrant groups in 2011 in absolute numbers were from
Poland,
Lithuania and
Sweden.[178] The policies of immigration and integration have been the subject of much debate in Norway.

Most Norwegians are registered at baptism as members of the
Church of Norway which used to be the official
state religion. The constitution still requires that the reigning monarch must be
Lutheran and that the country's values are based on its Christian and humanist heritage. Many remain in the church to participate in the community and practices such as
baptism,
confirmation, marriage and burial rites. About 71.5% of Norwegians were members of the Church of Norway in 2016. In 2016, about 55.3% of all newborns were baptised and about 60.0% of all 15-year-old persons were
confirmed in the church.[181]

In the early 1990s, studies estimated that between 4.7% and 5.3% of Norwegians attended church on a weekly basis.[182] This figure has dropped to about 2%.[183][184]

In 2010, 10% of the population was
religiously unaffiliated, while another 9%, were members of religious communities outside the Church of Norway.[185] Other
Christian denominations total about 4.9%[185] of the population, the largest of which is the
Roman Catholic Church, with 83,000 members, according to 2009 government statistics.[186] An article in the newspaper Aftenposten in October 2012 noted there were about 115,234 registered Roman Catholics in Norway; the reporter estimated that the total number of people with a Roman Catholic background may be 170,000–200,000 or higher.[187]

Other religions comprise less than 1% each, including 819 adherents of
Judaism.[189]Indian immigrants introduced
Hinduism to Norway, which in 2011 has slightly more than 5,900 adherents, or 1% of non-Lutheran Norwegians.[189]Sikhism has approximately 3,000 adherents, with most living in Oslo, which has two
gurdwaras. Sikhs first came to Norway in the early 1970s. The troubles in Punjab after
Operation Blue Star and riots committed against Sikhs in India after the
assassination of Indira Gandhi led to an increase in Sikh refugees moving to Norway. Drammen also has a sizeable population of Sikhs; the largest gurdwara in north Europe was built in
Lier. There are eleven
Buddhist organisations, grouped under the
Buddhistforbundet organisation, with slightly over 14,000 members,[189] which make up 0.2% of the population. The
Baha'i religion has slightly more than 1,000 adherents.[189] Around 1.7% (84,500) of Norwegians belong to the secular
Norwegian Humanist Association.

As in other
Scandinavian countries, the ancient Norse followed a form of native
Germanic paganism known as
Norse paganism. By the end of the 11th century, when Norway had been
Christianised, the indigenous Norse religion and practices were prohibited. Remnants of the native religion and beliefs of Norway survive today in the form of names, referential names of cities and locations, the days of the week, and other parts of everyday language. Modern interest in the old ways has led to a revival of pagan religious practices in the form of Åsatru. The Norwegian Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost formed in 1996; in 2011, the fellowship had about 300 members. Foreningen Forn Sed was formed in 1999 and has been recognised by the Norwegian government.

The Sami minority retained their
shamanistic religion well into the 18th century, when most converted to Christianity under the influence of Dano-Norwegian Lutheran
missionaries. Although some insist that "indigenous Sami religion had effectively been eradicated,'[191] athropologist
Gutorm Gjessing's Changing Lapps (1954) argues that the Samis "were outwardly and to all practical purposes converted to Christianity, but at the subconscious and unconscious level, the shamistic frenzy survived, more or less latent, only awaiting the necessary stimulus to break out into the open."[192] Today there is a renewed appreciation for the Sami traditional way of life, which has led to a revival of Noaidevuohta.[193] Some Norwegian and Sami celebrities are reported to visit
shamans for guidance.[194][195]

According to the 2010 Eurobarometer Poll, 22% of Norwegian citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", 44% responded that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 29% responded that "they don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force". 5% gave no response.[196]

Norwegian and Sami are the two official languages of Norway.[199][200][201]

The
North Germanic Norwegian language has two official written forms, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Both are used in public administration, schools, churches, and media. Bokmål is the written language used by a large majority of about 80–85%. Around 95% of the population speak Norwegian as their first or native language, although many speak
dialects that may differ significantly from the written languages. All Norwegian dialects are mutually intelligible, although listeners with limited exposure to dialects other than their own may struggle to understand certain phrases and pronunciations in some other dialects.

Several
Uralic Sami languages are spoken and written throughout the country, especially in the north, by some members of the Sami people. (Estimates suggest that about one third of the Norwegian Sami speak a Sami language.[202]) Speakers have a right to be educated and to receive communication from the government in their own language in a special forvaltningsområde (administrative area) for Sami languages.[203][204] The
Kven minority historically spoke the Uralic
Kven language (considered a separate language in Norway, but generally perceived as a Finnish dialect in Finland). Today the majority of ethnic Kven have little or no knowledge of the language. According to the
Kainun institutti, "The typical modern Kven is a Norwegian-speaking Norwegian who knows his genealogy."[205] As Norway has ratified the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) the Kven language together with
Romani and
Scandoromani language has become officially recognised minority languages.[206][207]

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Norwegian language was subject to
strong political and cultural controversies. This led to the development of Nynorsk in the 19th century and to the formation of alternative spelling standards in the 20th century.

Norwegian is similar to the other languages in Scandinavia:
Swedish and
Danish. All three languages are to a degree mutually intelligible and can be, and commonly are, employed in communication among inhabitants of the Scandinavian countries. As a result of the co-operation within the
Nordic Council, inhabitants of all Nordic countries, including
Iceland and
Finland, have the right to communicate with Norwegian authorities in their own language.[citation needed]

Students who are children of immigrant parents are encouraged to learn the Norwegian language. The Norwegian government offers language instructional courses for immigrants wishing to obtain Norwegian citizenship. With increasing concern about assimilating immigrants, since 1 September 2008, the government has required that an applicant for Norwegian citizenship give evidence of proficiency in either Norwegian or in one of the Sami languages, or give proof of having attended classes in Norwegian for 300 hours, or meet the language requirements for university studies in Norway (that is, by being proficient in one of the Scandinavian languages).

The primary foreign language taught in Norwegian schools is
English, considered an international language since the post-WWII era. The majority of the population is fairly fluent in English, especially those born after World War II.
German,
French and
Spanish are also commonly taught as second or, more often, third languages.
Russian,
Japanese,
Italian,
Latin, and rarely
Chinese (Mandarin) are offered in some schools, mostly in the cities. Traditionally, English, German and French were considered the main foreign languages in Norway. These languages, for instance, were used on
Norwegian passports until the 1990s, and university students have a general right to use these languages when submitting their theses.

Culture

The Norwegian
farm culture continues to play a role in contemporary Norwegian culture. In the 19th century, it inspired a strong
romantic nationalistic movement, which is still visible in the
Norwegian language and
media. Norwegian culture blossomed with nationalist efforts to achieve an independent identity in the areas of literature, art and music. This continues today in the performing arts and as a result of government support for exhibitions, cultural projects and artwork.[210]

Traditional Norwegian farmer's costumes, known as folkedrakt, and modern costumes inspired by those costumes, known as bunad, are widely used on special occasions.

Human rights

Norway has been considered a progressive country, which has adopted legislation and policies to support women's rights, minority rights, and
LGBT rights. As early as 1884, 171 of the leading figures, among them five Prime Ministers for the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, co-founded the
Norwegian Association for Women's Rights.[211] They successfully campaigned for women's
right to education,
women's suffrage, the
right to work, and other gender equality policies. From the 1970s, gender equality also came high on the state agenda, with the establishment of a public body to promote gender equality, which evolved into the
Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud. Civil society organisations also continue to play an important role, and the women's rights organisations are today organised in the
Norwegian Women's Lobby umbrella organisation.

In 1990, the Norwegian constitution was amended to grant
absolute primogeniture to the Norwegian throne, meaning that the eldest child, regardless of gender, takes precedence in the line of succession. As it was not retroactive, the current successor to the throne is the eldest son of the King, rather than his eldest child. The Norwegian constitution Article 6 states that "For those born before the year 1990 it shall...be the case that a male shall take precedence over a female."[212]

The Sami people have for centuries been the subject of discrimination and abuse by the dominant cultures in Scandinavia and Russia, those countries claiming possession of Sami lands.[213] The Sami people have never been a single community in a single region of
Lapland.[214] Norway has been greatly criticised by the international community for the politics of
Norwegianization of and discrimination against the indigenous population of the country.[215] Nevertheless, Norway was, in 1990, the first country to recognise
ILO-convention 169 on
indigenous people recommended by the UN.

In regard to LGBT rights, Norway was the first country in the world to enact an anti-discrimination law protecting the rights of gays and lesbians. In 1993, Norway became the second country to legalise
civil union partnerships for same-sex couples, and on 1 January 2009
Norway became the sixth country to grant full
marriage equality to same-sex couples. As a promoter of human rights, Norway has held the annual
Oslo Freedom Forum conference, a gathering described by The Economist as "on its way to becoming a human-rights equivalent of the Davos economic forum."[216]

Religion

Separation of church and state happened significantly later in Norway than in most of Europe and is not yet complete. In 2012, the Norwegian parliament voted to grant the
Church of Norway greater autonomy,[217] a decision which was confirmed in a constitutional amendment on 21 May 2012.[218]

Until 2012 parliamentary officials were required to be members of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Norway, and at least half of all government ministers had to be a member of the state church. As state church, the Church of Norway's clergy were viewed are state employees, and the central and regional church administrations were part of the state administration. Members of the Royal family are required to be members of the Lutheran church. On 1 January 2017, Norway
disestablished the Church, making it independent of the state, but retaining the Church's status as
national church.

Cinema

The Norwegian cinema has received international recognition. The documentary film Kon-Tiki (1950) of the expedition won an American Oscar
Academy Award. In 1959,
Arne Skouen's Nine Lives was nominated, but failed to win. Another notable film is Flåklypa Grand Prix (English: Pinchcliffe Grand Prix), an animated feature film directed by
Ivo Caprino. The film was released in 1975 and is based on characters from Norwegian cartoonist
Kjell Aukrust. It is the most widely seen Norwegian film of all time.

Other internationally recognised bands are
A-ha,
Röyksopp,
Ylvis.[223] A-ha initially rose to global fame during the mid-1980s. In the 1990s and 2000s, the group maintained its popularity domestically, and has remained successful outside Norway, especially in Germany, Switzerland, France, and Brazil.

Norway enjoys many music festivals throughout the year, all over the country. Norway is the host of one of the world's biggest
extreme sport festivals with music,
Ekstremsportveko—a festival held annually in
Voss. Oslo is the host of many festivals, such as
Øyafestivalen and
by:Larm. Oslo used to have a summer parade similar to the German
Love Parade. In 1992, the city of Oslo wanted to adopt the French music festival Fête de la Musique.
Fredrik Carl Størmer established the festival. Even in its first year, "Musikkens Dag" gathered thousands of people and artists in the streets of Oslo. "Musikkens Dag" is now renamed Musikkfest Oslo.

Little Norwegian literature came out of the period of the Scandinavian Union and the subsequent Dano-Norwegian union (1387–1814), with some notable exceptions such as
Petter Dass and
Ludvig Holberg. In his play Peer Gynt, Ibsen characterised this period as "Twice two hundred years of darkness/brooded o'er the race of monkeys." The first line of this couplet is frequently quoted. During the union with Denmark, the government imposed using only written Danish, which decreased the writing of Norwegian literature.

Architecture

With expansive forests, Norway has long had a tradition of building in wood. Many of today's most interesting new buildings are made of wood, reflecting the strong appeal that this material continues to hold for Norwegian designers and builders.[225]

With Norway's conversion to Christianity some 1,000 years ago, churches were built. Stonework architecture was introduced from Europe for the most important structures, beginning with the construction of
Nidaros Cathedral in
Trondheim. In the early
Middle Ages, wooden
stave churches were constructed throughout Norway. Some of them have survived; they represent Norway's most unusual contribution to architectural history. A fine example,
Urnes Stave Church in inner
Sognefjord, is on
UNESCO's
World Heritage List. Another notable example of wooden architecture is the buildings at
Bryggen Wharf in Bergen, also on the list for World Cultural Heritage sites, consisting of a row of tall, narrow wooden structures along the quayside.

The 17th-century town of
Røros, designated in 1980 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has narrow streets and wooden houses.

In the 17th century, under the Danish monarchy, cities and villages such as
Kongsberg and
Røros were established. The city[which?] had a church built in the Baroque style. Traditional wooden buildings that were constructed in Røros have survived.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the city of
Ålesund was rebuilt in the
Art Nouveau style, influenced by styles of
France. The 1930s, when functionalism dominated, became a strong period for Norwegian architecture. It is only since the late 20th century that Norwegian architects have achieved international renown. One of the most striking modern buildings in Norway is the
Sami Parliament in
Kárášjohka, designed by
Stein Halvorson and
Christian Sundby. Its debating chamber, in timber, is an abstract version of a lavvo, the traditional tent used by the nomadic
Sami people.[226]

Art

For an extended period, the Norwegian art scene was dominated by artwork from Germany and Holland as well as by the influence of Copenhagen. It was in the 19th century that a truly Norwegian era began, first with portraits, later with impressive landscapes. Johan Christian Dahl (1788–1857), originally from the Dresden school, eventually returned to paint the landscapes of western Norway, defining Norwegian painting for the first time."[227]

Norway's newly found independence from Denmark encouraged painters to develop their Norwegian identity, especially with landscape painting by artists such as
Kitty Kielland, a female painter who studied under
Hans Gude, and
Harriet Backer, another pioneer among female artists, influenced by
impressionism.
Frits Thaulow, an impressionist, was influenced by the art scene in Paris as was
Christian Krohg, a realist painter, famous for his paintings of prostitutes.[228]

Of particular note is
Edvard Munch, a symbolist/expressionist painter who became world-famous for
The Scream which is said to represent the anxiety of modern man.

Other artists of note include
Harald Sohlberg, a neo-romantic painter remembered for his paintings of
Røros, and
Odd Nerdrum, a figurative painter who maintains that his work is not art, but
kitsch.